Australian mining company Troy Resources Limited has achieved commercial production at its Karouni gold project here and less than two months after its first gold pour, the operation is now self-funding.
In a statement yesterday, the company announced that commercial production has been declared at its Karouni gold project in Region Seven following successful commissioning and operation of all key components of the processing plant.
“Commercial production is defined as the point when the mine is in the condition necessary for it to be capable of operating to the design specification set by management for long term sustainable production. It marks the completion of project development, commissioning and operational ramp-up of the mine and processing plant. The key design parameters considered include the mill reaching a pre-determined level of design capacity, recoveries, ability to produce a saleable product and maintaining ongoing production,” the company explained.
“Also, less than two months since the first gold pour at Karouni, the operation is now self-funding,” it added. The company said that the plant continues to perform in line with expectations and mill throughput of approximately 80,000 dry tonnes per month is forecast to be reached in March 2016.
“Achieving commercial production is a significant milestone for the company. I want to thank all our employees and contractors for their dedication and hard work ensuring the successful transition from commissioning to commercial production,” Managing Director Martin Purvis was quoted as saying. Commercial production was achieved after the investment of approximately A$133 million (US95 million) in the project which includes all expenditure relating to infrastructure, mining fleet, pre-production mining costs and first-fill inventories, the statement said.
The Australian company has proposed a medium-scale gold mine with a seven year mine life with annual average gold production of 90,000 ounces, with production in the first 12 months of 102,000 ounces of gold.
